Apeiba tibourbou

Monkey's Comb
Family: Malvaceae
Origin: South America, Central America
Small tree 10-20 ft

Yellow, heavily scented flowers are followed by interesting fruits that resemble sea urchins about 2" in diameter. These black fruits are covered with soft, short spines. Folk lore has it that these spiny fruit pods are used by monkeys as a comb.

The wood of Apeiba is soft and lightweight and used for rafts, the bark fibrous and used for making rope.

Similar plants:

Apeiba aspera (Monkey's Comb)

Link to this plant:

https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/apeiba_tibourbou.htm